Americanwyr Cymreig (Welsh) | |
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| Total population | |
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| Regions with significant populations | |
| Languages | |
| English,Welsh | |
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| Protestant | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Breton Americans,Cornish Americans,English Americans,Scottish Americans,Irish Americans,British Americans,Scotch-Irish Americans,Manx Americans,Welsh Canadians,Welsh Australians |
Welsh Americans (Welsh:Americanwyr Cymreig) are anAmerican ethnic group whose ancestry originates wholly or partly inWales,United Kingdom.[2] In the 2008 U.S. Census community survey, an estimated 1.98 million Americans hadWelsh ancestry, 0.6% of the total U.S. population. This compares with a population of 3 million in Wales. However, 3.8% of Americans appear to bear aWelsh surname.[3]
There have been severalUS presidents with Welsh ancestry, includingThomas Jefferson,[4]John Adams,John Quincy Adams,James A. Garfield,[5]Calvin Coolidge,Richard Nixon,[6] andBarack Obama.[6] Other prominent figures of Welsh descent in American history includeJefferson Davis, the only president of theConfederate States of America.[7]
The proportion of the American population with a name of Welsh origin ranges from 9.5% inSouth Carolina to 1.1% inNorth Dakota. Typically, names of Welsh origin are concentrated in the mid-Atlantic states,New England,the Carolinas,Georgia andAlabama and inAppalachia,West Virginia andTennessee.[3]
Welsh Voyages and settlements in America are said to have taken place in the twelfth century, led byMadoc the son ofOwain Gwynedd, and prince of theKingdom of Gwynedd. References to these voyages are found withinMedieval Welsh literature andWelsh folklore, but are generally dismissed by modern authors. The Madog legend attained its greatest prominence during theElizabethan era (theTudors being of Welsh ancestry) when Welsh and English writers used it bolsterBritish claims in theNew World versus those ofSpain,France andPortugal. The earliest surviving full account of Madoc's voyage, as the first to make the claim that Madoc had come to America, appears inHumphrey Llwyd 1559Cronica Walliae, an English adaptation of theBrut y Tywysogion.[8] No archaeological, linguistic, or other evidence of Madoc or his voyages has been found in the New or Old World but legends connect him with certain sites, such asDevil's Backbone on theOhio River nearLouisville, Kentucky.
In 1810,John Sevier, the firstgovernor of Tennessee, wrote to his friend MajorAmos Stoddard about a conversation he had had in 1782 with the oldCherokee chiefOconostota concerning ancient fortifications built along theAlabama River. The chief allegedly told him that the forts had been built by a group of White people called "Welsh", as protection against the ancestors of the Cherokee, who eventually drove them from the region.[9]
Sevier had also written in 1799 of the alleged discovery of six skeletons in brass armor bearing the Welsh coat-of-arms.Thomas S. Hinde claimed that in 1799, six soldiers had been dug up nearJeffersonville,Indiana on theOhio River withbreastplates that contained Welsh coat of arms.[10] It is possible these were the same six Sevier referred to, as the number, brass plates and Welsh coat of arms are consistent with both references. Speculation abounds connecting Madog with certain sites, such asDevil's Backbone, located on the Ohio River at Fourteen Mile Creek nearLouisville, Kentucky.[11][12]
The first modern documented Welsh arrivals came from Wales after 1618. In the mid to late seventeenth century, there was a large emigration of WelshQuakers to theColony of Pennsylvania, where aWelsh Tract was established in the region immediately west ofPhiladelphia. By 1700, Welsh people accounted for about one-third of the colony's estimated population of twenty thousand. There are a number of Welsh place names in this area. The Welsh were especially numerous and politically active and elected 9% of the members of thePennsylvania Provincial Council.[citation needed]
In 1757, Rev.Goronwy Owen, anAnglican Vicar born atY Dafarn Goch, in the parish ofLlanfair Mathafarn Eithaf inAnglesey and whose contribution toWelsh poetry is most responsible for the subsequent Welsh eighteenth century Renaissance,[13] emigrated toWilliamsburg, in theColony of Virginia. Until his death on his cotton and tobacco plantation nearLawrenceville, Virginia in 1769, Rev. Owen was mostly noted as an émigré bard, writing withhiraeth ("longing" or "homesickness") for his nativeAnglesey. During the subsequent revival of theEisteddfod, theGwyneddigion Society held up the poetry of Rev. Owen as an example for bards at future eisteddfodau to emulate.[citation needed]
During theEisteddfod revival of the 1790s,Gwyneddigion Society memberWilliam Jones, who had enthusiastically supported theAmerican Revolution and who was arguing for the creation of aNational Eisteddfod of Wales, had come to believe that the completelyAnglicizedWelsh nobility, throughrackrenting and their employment of unscrupulous land agents, had forfeited all right to the obedience and respect of their tenants. At theLlanrwst eisteddfod in June1791, Jones distributed copies of an address, entitledTo all Indigenous Cambro-Britons, in which he urged Welsh tenant farmers and craftsmen to pack their bags, emigrate from Wales, and sail for what he called the "Promised Land" in the United States.[14]
In 1900, there were 93,744 Welsh-born resident in the United States, more than half of whom were settled in Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania.[15] In those three states, Welsh immigrants tended to work in coal mining, slate quarrying, and metallurgy.[15]
According to Marcus Tanner, large-scale Welsh immigration following theAmerican Revolution began in the1790s, when 50 immigrants left the village ofLlanbrynmair for a tract ofPennsylvania land purchased byBaptist minister Rev.Morgan John Rhys. The result was the farming settlement ofCambria, Pennsylvania.[16]
In the 19th century, thousands of Welsh coal miners emigrated to the anthracite and bituminous mines of Pennsylvania, many becoming mine managers and executives. The miners brought organizational skills, exemplified in theUnited Mine Workers labor union, and its most famous leaderJohn L. Lewis, who was born in a Welsh settlement in Iowa. Pennsylvania has the most Welsh Americans, approximately 200,000; they are primarily concentrated in the Western and Northeastern (Coal Region) regions of the state.[17]
Welsh settlement inOhio began in 1801, when a group of Welsh-speaking pioneers migrated from Cambria, Pennsylvania, toPaddy's Run, which is now the site ofShandon, Ohio.[16]
According to Marcus Tanner, "In Ohio State,Jackson andGallia counties in particular became a 'Little Wales', where Welsh settlers were sufficiently thick on the ground by the 1830s to justify the establishment ofCalvinistic Methodistsynods."[16]
In the early nineteenth century most of the Welsh settlers were farmers, but later there was emigration bycoal miners to the coalfields of Ohio and Pennsylvania and byslate quarrymen fromNorth Wales to the "Slate Valley" region ofVermont andUpstate New York. There was a large concentration of Welsh people in theAppalachian section of Southeast Ohio, such asJackson County, Ohio, which was nicknamed "Little Wales".[citation needed]
As late as 1900, Ohio still had 150 Welsh-speaking church congregations.[18]
The Welsh language was commonly spoken in the Jackson County area for generations until the 1950s when its use began to subside. As of 2010, more than 126,000 Ohioans are of Welsh descent and about 135speak the language,[19][20] with significant concentrations still found in many communities ofOhio such asOak Hill (13.6%),Madison (12.7%),Franklin (10.5%),Jackson (10.0%),Radnor (9.8%), andJefferson (9.7%).[21]
A particularly large proportion of theAfrican American population has Welsh surnames. A possible factor leading to this is slaves adopting the surnames of their former masters, though evidence for this is sparse.[citation needed]
Examples of slave- and plantation-owning Welsh Americans includeWelsh poet Rev.Goronwy Owen and AmericanFounding FatherThomas Jefferson. While there were cases of slaves adopting their masters' surnames, Welsh religious groups and anti-slavery groups also helped to assist slaves to freedom and evidence exists of names adopted for this reason.[22] In other situations, slaves took on their own new identity of Freeman, Newman, or Liberty, while others chose the surnames of American heroes or founding fathers, which in both cases could have been Welsh in origin.[23]
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The premier recent scholarly treatment of Welsh settlers in Tennessee is the work of Cardiganshire-born Harvard ProfessorEirug Davies. To authorThe Welsh of Tennessee, Davies did extensive research in academic collections, site visits, and interviews with descendants and Welsh émigré residents of Tennessee in the early 21st Century. A short interview with Dr. Davies, discussing his research, isavailable on-line.
Many Welsh descendants, especially Quakers, migrated to Tennessee—primarily from Colonial settlements in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina—pre-Statehood (1796) and in the early years of the 19th Century.[citation needed]
The first organized settlement occurred in the 1850s, inspired by Reverend Samuel Roberts, a Congregational pastor from Llanbrynmair,Montgomeryshire. Engaging with former Ohio governorWilliam Bebb and Welsh immigrant Evan B. Jones, of Cincinnati, Roberts, known as "S.R.", promoted Welsh migration toScott County, Tennessee. The first emigrants left Wales for Philadelphia in June, 1856. The first settlers arrived at Nancy's Branch in Scott County in September, 1856. Ultimately, the settlement failed. Some of the settlers migrated to Knoxville, while others migrated to other parts of the United States. Only three families, plus Samuel Roberts and John Jones remained at the settlement named Brynyffynon.[24] TheNational Library of Wales has a collection of original material related to the settlement, identified as the "Tennessee Papers."
Following theAmerican Civil War, several Welsh immigrant families moved from theWelsh Tract in Pennsylvania to CentralEast Tennessee. These Welsh families settled primarily in an area now known asMechanicsville in the city ofKnoxville. These families were recruited by the brothers Joseph and David Richards to work in a rolling mill then co-owned by John H. Jones.[citation needed]
The Richards brothers co-founded the Knoxville Iron Works beside the L&N Railroad, later to be used as the site for the 1982 World's Fair. Of the original buildings of the Iron Works where Welsh immigrants worked, only the structure housing the restaurant 'The Foundry' remains. At the time of the 1982 World's Fair, the building was known as the Strohaus.[citation needed]
Having first met in donated space at the Second Presbyterian Church, the immigrant Welsh built their own Congregational Church, with the Reverend Thomas Thomas serving as the first pastor in 1870. However, by 1899, the church property was sold. The Welsh celebrated their native culture here, holding services in Welsh and hosting choral competitions and other activities that kept the community connected.[citation needed]
These Welsh-immigrant families became successful and established other businesses in Knoxville. By 1930, many descendants of post-Civil War Knoxville's Welsh families dispersed into other sections of the city and neighboring counties.. Today, scores of families in greater Knoxville can trace their ancestry directly to these original immigrants. The Welsh tradition in Knoxville was remembered with Welsh descendants' celebratingSt. David's Day until the early 21st century. The Knoxville Welsh Society is now defunct.[citation needed]
Because of pit mining north of Knoxville, a significant Welsh settlement was established in Anderson and Campbell Counties, especially in the towns ofBriceville andCoal Creek (nowRocky Top). The non-profitCoal Creek Watershed Foundation has spearheaded efforts to document and preserve the history of Welsh settlers in this region.
Chattanooga and nearby communities such asSoddy-Daisy were home to Welsh immigrants who worked in the mining and iron industries. TheSoddy-Daisy Roots Project and theresearch of Professor Edward G. Hartmann provide substantial information about the Welsh settlers in southeastern Tennessee.[citation needed]
During 1984–1985, Welsh educator David Greenslade travelled in Tennessee, documenting current and historic Welsh settlements as part of a larger, nationwide study of Welsh in the United States. Greenslade's research resulted in the book,Welsh Fever. Greenslade'spapers are archived at the National Library of Wales.[citation needed]
Award-winning actressDale Dickey is a descendant of Knoxville's Richards brothers. Her ancestor, Reverend R. D. Thomas, another Welsh immigrant to Knoxville, authored the seminal workHanes Cymru America (History of the Welsh in America) in 1872. A digital version of the original book, in Welsh, isavailable on-line.[citation needed]
After 1850, many Welsh sought out farms in the Midwest.[citation needed]
In the years surrounding the turn of the twentieth century, the towns ofElwood,Anderson andGas City inGrant andMadison Counties, located northeast ofIndianapolis, attracted scores of Welsh immigrants, including many large families and young industrial workers.[citation needed] This was due to the discovery of vast quantities of natural gas in Grant and Madison Counties, Indiana about 1890. Tin plate and glass bottle factories sprung up due to free gas and factory owners sponsored skilled tin plate workers from the Swansea Wales area. Landowners foolishly drilled many wells and burned up the gas 24 hours a day until finally, the gas fields were exhausted about 1910. Most of the Welsh immigrants left for jobs in the Warren, Ohio, area where many foundries existed with many jobs.[citation needed]
After theTreaty of Traverse des Sioux was signed by theDakota people in 1851, Welsh-speaking pioneers fromWisconsin andOhio settled much of what is nowLe Sueur andBlue Earth Counties, inMinnesota. By 1857, the number of Welsh speakers was so numerous that theMinnesota State Constitution had to be translated into the Welsh language.[16]
According toThe Minnesota Ethnic Food Book, "Early Welsh immigrants settled in theMinnesota River valley in 1853; Blue Earth,Nicollete, and Le Sueur counties were the nucleus of a rural community that reached west intoBrown County. While some of the men had been miners in Wales, most seem to have left central and northern Wales looking for land of their own. Families quickly founded enduring farming settlements and, despite a movement of children toMankato and theTwin Cities metropolitan area, a Welsh presence remains in the river valley to this day."[25]
According to localWelsh language poetJames Price, whosebardic name wasAp Dewi ("Son of David"), the first Welsh literary society inMinnesota was founded at a meeting held inSouth Bend Township, also inBlue Earth County in the fall of 1855.[26] Also according to Ap Dewi, "The firsteisteddfod in theState of Minnesota was held inJudson in the house of Wm. C. Williams in 1864. The second eisteddfod was held in 1866 in Judson, in the log chapel, with the Rev. John Roberts as Chairman. Ellis E. Ellis, Robert E. Hughes, H.H. Hughes, Rev. J. Jenkins, and William R. Jones took part in this eisteddfod. The third eisteddfod was held in Judson in the new chapel (Jerusalem) on January 2, 1871. The famous Llew Llwyfo[27] (bardic name) was chairman and a splendid time was had."[28]
By the 1880s, between 2,500 and 3,000 people of Welsh background were contributing to the life of some 17 churches and 22 chapels.[29]
Also according toThe Minnesota Ethnic Food Book, "A profile of the Welsh community in the 1980s seems typical of many American ethnic groups: women of the older generation, aged in their sixties and seventies, maintain what there is of traditional foodways; but the younger generation shows revived interest in its heritage. These women have reclaimed old recipes from Welsh cookbooks or brought them back from trips to Wales. Thus Welsh folk occasionally eat Welsh cakes,bara brith,leek soup, and lamb onSt. David's Day in honor of thepatron saint of Wales."[25]
Welsh cultural events, as well as aWelsh-language classes and a conversation group, continue to be organized by the St. David's Society of Minnesota.[30]
Some 2,000 immigrants from Wales and another nearly 6,000 second-generation Welsh became farmers in Kansas, favoring areas close to the towns of Arvonia, Emporia and Bala. Features of their historic culture survived longest when their church services retained Welsh sermons.[31]
Oneida County andUtica, New York became the cultural center of the Welsh-American community in the 19th century. Suffering from poor harvests in 1789 and 1802 and dreaming of land ownership, the initial settlement of five Welsh families soon attracted other agricultural migrants, settling Steuben, Utica and Remsen townships. The first Welsh settlers arrived in the 1790s. In 1848, The lexicographerJohn Russell Bartlett noted that the area had a number of Welsh language newspapers and magazines, as well as Welsh churches. Indeed Bartlett noted in hisDictionary of Americanisms that "one may travel for miles (across Oneida County) and hear nothing but the Welsh language". By 1855, there were four thousand Welshmen in Oneida.[32][33]
With the Civil War, many Welshmen began moving west, especially to Michigan and Wisconsin. They operated small farms and clung to their historic traditions. The church was the center of Welsh community life, and a vigorous Welsh-speaking press kept ethnic consciousness strong.Blodau Yr Oes ("Flowers of the Age"), first produced in 1872 in Utica, was aimed at children attending WelshSunday schools in America.[34][35] Strongly Republican, the Welsh gradually assimilated into the larger society without totally abandoning their own ethnic cultural patterns.[36]
Five towns in northernMaryland and southern Pennsylvania were constructed between 1850 and 1942 to house Welsh quarry workers producingPeach Bottom slate. During this period the towns retained a Welsh ethnic identity, although their architecture evolved from the traditional Welsh cottage form to contemporary American. Two of the towns inHarford County now form theWhiteford-Cardiff Historic District.[37]
After the Eastern European people, the Welsh people represents a significant minority there.[citation needed]
Welsh miners, shepherds and shop merchants arrived inCalifornia during the Gold Rush (1849–51), as well thePacific Northwest andRocky Mountain States since the 1850s. Large-scale Welsh settlement inNorthern California esp. theSierra Nevada andSacramento Valley was noted, and one county:Amador County, California finds a quarter of local residents have Welsh ancestry.[citation needed]
Los Angeles andSan Francisco have attracted Welsh artists and actors in various fields of the arts and entertainment industry. The following is a short list of notable Welsh artists and actors that have lived and worked in the Los Angeles area:D. W. Griffith,Catherine Zeta-Jones,Richard Burton,Rosemarie Frankland,Michael Sheen,Glynis Johns,Ioan Gruffudd,Ivor Barry,Cate Le Bon,Anthony Hopkins,Tom Jones,Katherine Jenkins, andTerry Nation, among others.[citation needed]
Between 1888 and 2012 theWelsh Presbyterian Church was the center of the Welsh-American community in Los Angeles. The church was founded by the Reverend David Hughes fromLlanuwchllyn,Gwynedd at another site. In its prime the church would average 300 immigrants for Sunday service in Welsh and English.[38] Notably, the choir of the church sang in the 1941 filmHow Green Was My Valley.[39] The singing tradition continued with theCor Cymraeg De Califfornia, the Welsh Choir of Southern California, a non-denominational 501(c)(3) founded in 1997 still performing across the United States.[40]
Santa Monica, California was named one of the most British towns in America due to its commerce and British migrants who came during a post-World War II boom in factory production, many of whom were Welsh.[41] However, higher cost of living and stricter immigration laws have affected the town once dubbed 'Little Britain'.[42]
In 2011 theWest Coast Eisteddfod: Welsh Festival of Arts, sponsored by A Raven Above Press and AmeriCymru, was the firsteisteddfod in the area since 1926. In the following year,Lorin Morgan-Richards established the annualLos Angeles St. David's Day Festival which sparked a cultural resurgence in the city and the formation of theWelsh League of Southern California in 2014.[43] Celebrities of Welsh heritageHenry Thomas,Ioan Gruffudd,Michael Sheen, along withRichard Burton's andFrank Lloyd Wright's families have all publicly supported the festival.[44]
Mormon missionaries in Wales in the 1840s and 1850s proved persuasive, and many converts emigrated to Utah. By the mid-nineteenth century,Malad City,Idaho was established. It began largely as a WelshMormon settlement and lays claim to having more people of Welsh descent per capita than anywhere outside Wales.[45] This may be around 20%.[46] In 1951 theNational Gymanfa Association of the United States and Canada sponsored a collection of Welsh books at theHarold B. Lee Library atBrigham Young University.[47]: 75
One area with a strong Welsh influence is an area inJackson andGallia counties, Ohio, often known as "Little Cardiganshire".[48] The Madog Center for Welsh Studies is located at theUniversity of Rio Grande. The National Welsh Gymanfa Ganu Association holds the National Festival of Wales yearly in various locations around the country, offering seminars on various cultural items, a marketplace for Welsh goods, and the traditional Welsh hymn singing gathering (the gymanfa ganu).
The annualLos Angeles St. David's Day Festival, celebrates Welsh heritage through performance, workshops, and outdoor marketplace.[49] In Portland, theWest Coast Eisteddfod is a yearly Welsh event focusing on art competitions and performance in the bardic tradition. On a smaller scale, many states across the country hold regular Welsh Society meetings.
Before 1890, Wales was the world's leading producer oftinplate, especially as used for canned foods. The U.S. was the primary customer. TheMcKinley tariff of 1890 raised the duty on tinplate that year, and in response, many entrepreneurs and skilled workers emigrated to the U.S., especially to the Pittsburgh region. They built extensive occupational networks and a transnational niche community.[50]
The American daytime soap operaOne Life to Live took place in a fictional Pennsylvania town outside of Philadelphia known asLlanview (llan is an old Welsh word for church, now encountered mainly in place names). Llanview was loosely based on the Welsh settlements located in theWelsh Barony, or Welsh Tract, located northwest of Philadelphia.[citation needed]
Welsh settlers in southwestern Ohio cleared dense forests to create farmland, cultivating corn and wheat, and prepared stews and rustic breads using cast iron kettles. One family brought a large kettle from Wales, which was passed down through generations and used for everything from making apple butter to washing clothes. While there are few uniquely Welsh holidays aside from St. David's Day on March 1, major Christian holidays have long been celebrated in Welsh American communities, though distinctive holiday foods have mostly faded. Like many immigrant groups, some traditional baked goods remain popular among Welsh Americans.Welsh cakes are a rich, small, round griddle-baked cake made with butter, flour, currants, and spices, continues to be a favorite at Welsh American events, typically served with tea. Other cakes, such asbara brith are also made but are less common than Welsh cakes. Welsh Heritage Week, usually held in July, and a weeklong language course called Cwrs Cymraeg, both of which change locations annually, celebrate Welsh culture. −These and other smaller, local Welsh American gatherings often feature a te bach, including Welsh cakes, various baked goods influenced by broader American baking traditions, cheese with bread or crackers, and other finger foods.[51]
Relations between Wales and America are primarily conducted through theUnited Kingdom's government, most commonly the persons of thePrime Minister, theForeign Secretary, and theAmbassador to the United States. Nevertheless, theWelsh Government has deployed its own envoy to America, primarily to promote Wales-specific business interests. The primary Welsh Government Office is based out of theWashington British Embassy, with satellites inNew York City,Chicago,San Francisco, andAtlanta.[52]
While most Welsh immigrants came to the U.S. between the early 17th century and the early 20th century, immigration has by no means stopped. Currentexpatriates have formed societies all across the country, including theChicago Tafia (a play on "Mafia" and "Taffy[broken anchor]"), AmeriCymru and New York Welsh/Cymry Efrog Newydd. This only amounts to a few social groups and some "High Profile" individuals. Currently, Welsh immigration to the United States is very low.[citation needed]
Ancestry: Welsh and Scotch-English
Ancestry: Davis is of Welsh ancestry
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)The two towns ... occupied by Welsh slate workers
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